Background Checks, Asset Checks and Business Due Diligence: What Information Can a Private Investigator Uncover?

Key Takeaways

At one time or another in your life, it may be necessary for you to endeavour to uncover information about a person or business. Private investigators regularly conduct background and asset checks and handle due diligence inquiries as well. If you wish to learn more about a person or an entity, for a personal, business or legal reason, this article sets out what options you have and explains how these investigations are conducted

What is a Background Check?

Background and asset checks are used every day by people, businesses and lawyers who want to learn more about a person of interest for any legitimate purpose. Due diligence inquiries are similar investigations into businesses or companies and their operators, conducted by potential investors or partners of the subject business.

There are a range of reasons why people and investors in Australia conduct research investigations of this type. They may have a reason to believe that the subject person or business is engaged in deception or they might simply want to check whether there are any red flags that can be identified before forming a closer relationship.

Typically, background and asset checks are conducted by private investigators. Investigators are also engaged to conduct certain types of due diligence inquiries into businesses. Provided there is no court order in place preventing you from doing so, it is lawful for you to conduct your own investigation into a person or business. The limitation in conducting your own searches is that it takes years to learn how to do investigations of this type professionally so your search is unlikely to be very comprehensive.

The primary method by which investigators uncover information in the course of background checks and business investigations is by conducting database and web searches. This is sometimes referred to as OSINT or Open-Source Intelligence. There are other ways to learn more about a subject person or business, for example, by conducting surveillance or speaking to associates but OSINT will usually come first.

Certain databases that store information about individuals or corporate entities in a country like Australia are comprehensive, in the sense that they show all results for a name searched in the database. These include registries like land titles and the ASIC corporate register. Most databases are not comprehensive, and so wide-ranging searches are required to endeavour to find any and all evidence relating to the subject person or entity. General searches on the web through search engines operate in a similar way in that a simple search under the name of a subject is unlikely to reveal much more than basic information in most cases.

As a private investigator, it is often necessary to conduct hybrid searches such as fuzzy searches or wildcard searches and to utilise different search terms to ensure a database or search engine has been examined exhaustively. It’s also important to be able to draw inferences from incomplete information, such as partial name matches, while considering the strengths and weaknesses of each data source.

Ultimately, what is possible in any due diligence-type investigation depends on several variables including what information is provided and sought by a client, what information happens to be available for a particular subject, the level of involvement of a subject in business/society/family relations/etc, the extent to which the subject has distinctive identifiers (such as a name) that enable him or her to be differentiated from other persons with the same name and other factors.

Below are some summaries of searches that we typically conduct as private investigators. Generally, these searches are available Australia-wide. It is also common for investigators to engage investigators overseas to make inquiries into foreign subjects. For a specific investigation proposal, including costs, timeframes and scope, it is generally necessary for an investigator to have full known actual details for a subject person or entity and an indication as to when those details were known to be current. If you’d like a proposal, contact an investigator now to request more information.

Background Checks in Australia

A background check entails searches across a broad range of databases and web resources. The type and quantity of information uncovered from a background check varies depending on the particular subject and the circumstances of the investigation. In conducting a background check an investigator may uncover information relating to a subject person’s personal, business, financial, family and social dealings. An investigator may ascertain involvement in civil actions, bankruptcies, tenancy defaults and criminal trials. It may be possible to identify associates, family members, problematic behaviours, employment details, corporate involvement, interests in land, character information, contact details, adverse information and more. It may also be possible to prove or disprove claims a subject has made about him or herself depending on what details are known about any particular subject.

An investigator can provide whatever information is available for a subject which may include some or all of the below (and/or other related or unrelated details) both currently and historically. An asterisk has been placed next to the information that will in most cases be comprehensive for results under a particular name. The other search results will not necessarily be comprehensive (but may be). Results of interest in relation to a subject uncovered during a background check may open up the opportunity to conduct further searches with respect to a certain aspect of the subject’s life.

Asset Checks

Investigators are often asked how to find assets or how to find hidden assets in Australia. The following is a technical description of how investigators conduct asset searches.

Company & Land Searches

We recommend searching a subject person’s apparent registered company involvement and also seeking to identify any land held in preferred states (or nationally) under a subject’s name or under the names of any proprietary companies in which a subject is apparently a shareholder, including relational holdings. Business name searches are included in asset searches, and other searches are conducted to endeavour to determine whether evidence as to any current employment on the part of a subject is apparent. It may be possible to confirm a place of residence for a subject whose current place of residence is unknown, which may consequently enable the identification of other information. Some trustees or beneficiaries are in the form of proprietary company structures, so these should be apparent when linked on ASIC with a subject or companies in which a subject has an interest. Also, the names of some superannuation funds are publicly recorded and can be identified.

Surveillance for Asset Verification

If a subject’s location is known (or if it can be established in the course of an investigation) then a client may wish to conduct surveillance to seek to ascertain: the nature of any work a subject performs, whether a subject is in a relationship currently, whether a subject appears to have tangible assets, whether a subject discards receipts, statements or documents that give an indication of accounts/assets, what ATMs/banks/safety deposit boxes a subject is attending upon, what credit/debit cards a subject uses and whether there is other evidence of possible interest that can be uncovered, such as properties a subject attends upon in which they may have a hidden interest. Depending on the circumstances, other discreet HUMINT (human intelligence) inquiries may reveal leads as to assets. Evidence such as this may facilitate court orders against institutions with which a subject has accounts.

Shares & Intellectual Property

If a client believes a subject may own shares in specific public companies, then it may be possible to confirm whether a subject does in fact currently own such shares.

If a client believes there is any prospect that a subject may have an interest in any intellectual property rights, then searches into this can be included.

Digital Forensics

Any digital devices used by a subject that are accessible (through court order or by other means) may contain valuable evidence of financial-related details. Provided it is lawful, a forensic investigation of any hard drive/s or storage devices to see what they contain is recommended. This evidence may facilitate court orders against institutions with which a subject has accounts.

PPSR Searches

PPSR (Personal Property Security Register) searches may reveal evidence of some ownership/part ownership of an asset. We suggest a client’s lawyer undertakes this search if it is permissible in the circumstances.

Corporate and business due diligence

Company extracts can be obtained for public and proprietary companies in Australia. This enables identification of officeholders, registered addresses, shareholders (for proprietary companies) and will reveal whether the company is listed as having been subject to external administration. Relational company searches are possible to determine whether the subject entity has an interest in any other company. The subject entity can be searched on land titles in preferred states/territories to determine whether the entity has a legal interest (ownership or lease) in any land. Once identified, ASIC personal name extracts for officeholders and shareholders of the subject company can be obtained, showing their current and historical involvements in other companies and their interests in proprietary companies. Background/asset checks are possible for officeholders and shareholders. Financial reports are accessible for public companies.

General web and database searches may reveal information regarding the actual operations of a subject company or business, including contact details, places of business, nature of business, employees, media coverage, acquisitions, adverse information, etc. Database and other searches may reveal evidence relating to civil or administrative legal actions involving the subject entity (or officeholders) and court or tribunal judgments may be available. Field calls and/or associated inquiries can be made to endeavour to confirm the business operates at any registered or listed address and/or to uncover other information. HUMINT inquiries with past or former employees or other persons may reveal information about the internal operations of a business.

Credit reports

A subject’s credit report is not accessible in Australia without the authorisation of the subject. We have addressed above how certain financial-related information may be uncovered. Depending on the circumstances, other information may be accessible. 

Bank accounts

In certain circumstances, it may be possible to lawfully identify banks with which a subject person or entity has accounts. In specific circumstances, it may be possible to identify bank account details for a subject person or entity. While banks in Australia will not disclose details regarding accounts without a court order, it is possible in certain cases to lawfully obtain information that might otherwise be protected, for example, through a digital forensic investigation.

Public records/registries

Readily accessible public records are generally considered in the course of the searches described above. In certain circumstances, specific historical or other databases can be searched, as the need arises.

Other investigative/intelligence services

As a broad-based investigation firm, Lyonswood Investigations & Forensic Group provides background checks, asset checks, business investigations and associated investigative inquiries on a regular basis. Having conducted this work in Australia for over four decades, we have an insight into what information is relevant and how to go about uncovering that information from databases and other sources.

We believe we provide the broadest range of investigative services in Australia. Please review the Services page on our website to learn more and feel free to let us know about any specific objectives you have with respect to a person or entity so that we can tailor a plan to suit your needs.

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